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Greek Health Ministry defends new hospital fee

The Greek health minister, Adonis Georgiadis, has defended the introduction of a new €5 hospital fee following criticism from other parties in parliament.

Georgiadis faced wide-ranging criticism on Monday (3 March) not only from opposition parties, but also from junior coalition partner PASOK, over the hospital fee which patients will be charged for admission to polyclinics in the country’s new Primary National Healthcare Network (PEDY).

PASOK MPs have described the €5 fee for polyclinic admission as “sudden", "rash” and “confusing” for citizens.

At the beginning of the year, Greece introduced a €25 hospital fee as an alternative source of revenue for the Greek government. However, the fee was later scrapped and passed on to cigarette smokers.